Tori, I took a bunch of classes on the basics, on photoshop, and on lighting THEN I shot for free until those that I had chosen to shoot, were telling me that was what they wanted to see.

I used specific people who were picky, who I knew would help *me* in what to look for and who I could seriously practice on.

Since you are going into people's homes and shooting, you have to have a great understanding of natural light, reflectors, how to use them to your advantage, flash and off camera flash.

Being a professional is a lot more than just charging for your photos. There is a business side you have to be good at. Not to mention the technical side. I just would not start charging until you really have a good feel on what to keep and what to cull. In a post you made, I loved the first and last of the two cats, but, the middle two would have been deleted and never shown to a client.


If it was me(and it was not too long ago) I would tell people you are portfolio building at the moment and are not charging. I would have them sign a release saying you will be able to use their photos as you please. I would give them photos for awhile.

I can't give you a definitive time as when one should start charging. The best way to put it is when you can consistently deliver the results.

I am very critical of my own work though. My goal is to be able to look at today's work and feel like last year's work was terrible, every year, improvement wise. I am confident in being able to get shots that are well exposed, with good lighting both in a natural area or in the studio, with the depth of field I want and a good expression on the animal and people.

Each year I try and add in new skills, new lighting techniques, new posing techniques. I started in event photography, which, I had an eye and the timing for. It was much less challenging than portraits. My paid work sorta slowly evolved from horse show stuff to mainly portraits.